Enigma Solution

Almost everyone I know is concerned if not obsessed with being happy. So I amuse myself by asking people various questions about happiness. A popular question is,  "At which time in your professional life did you feel the happiest?". Most respond that they were happiest at the beginning of their careers or when they were mere trainees. This seems strange. How can anyone be happy when as the junior most person you have people walking all over you, the workload back breaking, and you have so little money in the pocket? This contradiction I ascribe to youth, which is identified by a carefree demeanour, optimism, boundless energy, good health etc. The greatest reason is lack of any real personal and professional responsibility. As we progress in our careers, most of us emulate the hamster on the wheel in the laboratory. We run, run and run,  snatching moments of  joy and relaxation, endeavouring to  achieve real personal development whenever possible, ev...

An interesting reaction to my writing, is that people begin to ask for advice. Though this is flattering it can be a bit dangerous both for me and the person seeking my advice. I wish they would realize that, all I have to share with most of them is only my confusion. Pradeep recently wrote to me, that he felt he was a zombie without a meaningful life. He worked for a very big and famous multinational organization. He was paid very well and had a lot of perks and facilities provided to him. He felt trapped in a line up of demanding and aggressive bosses, exhausted subordinates and impossible targets. Like most of his colleagues, even 12 hour work days and six days a week of slogging were insufficient to meet the workload demanded from them. He felt he was unable to satisfy his bosses because of lack of competence and ability. Constant battering by his bosses and unhappiness at home had eroded his confidence. He wanted my advise on ways and means to boost his confidence. I tol...

I love statesmen for they demonstrate the better qualities in people. Unfortunately statesmen are an almost extinct species. On the other hand, I detest politics because the conduct of politicians often brings out the worst in people. Yet it is undeniable the entertainment value politicians provide to the public, often at great cost to our sanity, loss of wealth, destruction of our environment and generation of a lot of  chaos in society. Yet every fiasco and blunder, of which there are many   by our politicians and the government lie powerful and important lessons for individuals and organisations on how not to do things. Driven by control rather than contribution, politicians and governments rarely get things right and can always be trusted to botch things up. The billion rupee question is ' How do they not only survive but thrive, in spite of their sheer incompetence and duplicity?' I believe the right answer would be, 'They resort to the...